My So Called Life Continues
by Royal Rose Red
Summary: Begins where the last episode left off.  Brian's upset, Angela's confused, and Jordan is as emotionally cutoff as always.  First Fanfiction.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own My So-Called Life or any of the characters from the amazing show.

Summary: This pretty much begins where the last episode of the show left off. It's somewhat how I figured the show would go.

A/N: This is my first fanfiction so don't be overly critical. Don't jump to conclussions about the story. It may seem like so-and-so is going to end up with so-and-so, but remember that this story takes place in a high school. Relationships are going to change, or else there wouldn't be any of the drama we all love so much. Please tell me if any of the names or details are inaccurate or if the characters are acting out of character.

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The night was oddly beautiful and perfect considering all that had happened. The stars were shining just as brightly as the full moon overhead. The houses on the street released an orange glow from each well lit window. The streetlamps had only just come on several minutes earlier. Everything was quiet except for the steady hum of the crickets and a lone boy riding his bike in circles. The boy was quite a sight to see. One minute he seemed to be muttering to himself. The next minute he would end up hitting his head on the handlebars a few times. Finally, he just stopped the bike and stared at the spot where _she_ had been moments before.

"_Oh my God… what have I done? I'm such an idiot,"_ thought Brian Krakow as he continued staring down the road. _"Why did I let her get into Jordon Catalano's car? I should have told her to stop. I should have told her everything about how I, like, feel… but I… I said I would help him with the letter. So isn't this all my own fault? I mean... how could she have even believed that Jordan could write that in the first place? Well… I guess she made herself believe what she wanted to believe. Why am I defending everyone? Shouldn't I be finding someone to blame for all this… isn't that, like, the right of a teenager… the right to blame others for your problems?_

"_But how could she get into that car after she found out I wrote the letter? Oh God! I can picture what they're doing right now in his car. I think I'm going to be sick! Not only am I lusting after my neighbor… but now I'm picturing her doing it in the back of Jordan's car. Great… now I'm a huge pervert! I'm a pervert… and Jordan Catalano gets Angela. What do I get? I get… I get… like, my bike." _

He kicked his bike and began riding in circles once again.

Several miles away Jordan Catalano's red convertible was speeding down a back road. Anyone who didn't know Jordan very well would think he was acting completely normal, but his fingers were twitching ever so slightly on the steering wheel. Occasionally he would chance a glance at the red headed girl next to him, but she never returned the fleeting look. She was staring too intently out the window, apparently loss in thought.

_Oh my God… Brian wrote that letter to me. Brian… my, like, dorky neighbor wrote me a passionate love letter? How does that make, like, any sense at all? Neighbors totally don't write each other love letters. They let you borrow, like, cups of sugar and tools... or something. I mean, if Brian wrote the letter… then I forgave Jordan for, like, no reason. So… why am I in his car? How could I have believed Jordan wrote that letter in the first place? He can barely, like, form coherent sentences. Ok… that was totally mean. But… he kinda deserves it. Right? God… I must be an incredibly shallow person. Brian writes me, like, this amazing letter… and still I go off with Jordan Catalano. But if I am shallow… would I be thinking about all of this stuff in the first place? Maybe I'm an introspectively shallow person… does that term even, like, exist? _

Suddenly, Angela Chase escapes from her thoughts. She turns to Jordan and wills herself not to be sucked into his intense eyes, his gorgeous mouth, and his – FOCUS!

"Jordan," she begins wearily, "I'm not really feeling too well right now."

Jordan's face falls slightly at her words. "What's wrong?" he asks. His voice is deep and hypnotically slow and airy. "Did you talk to Brain or something?"

"His name's Brian," she responded a little too irritably. "And no… why?"

"I don't know… I just… you know… saw you talking to him." Jordan had stopped glancing at her and was now focusing all his attention on the road, something he never usually does.

"He's my neighbor," she muttered. "We, you know, occasionally exchange words."

Jordan simply nodded. After a few seconds of awkward silence he makes a very sharp u-turn and heads back in the direction they came from.

"So I guess I'll take you home," he sighed.

Angela didn't respond. She just went back to staring out the window.


	2. Awkwardness Isn't Always A Given

Disclaimer: I do not own My So-Called Life or any of the characters... blah, blah, blah, but if I did I never would have ended the brilliant show on a freaking cliffhanger.

A/N: Thanks to the three people who gave me reviews. I'm glad there are a few people enjoying this story. Also thanks to my friend Dani who told me what parts to leave in and what parts to take out, and for giving me the title of this chapter. Hope you enjoy the chapter. Tell me what you think of it.

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Angela's POV: _Why is it that in life, whenever you expect things to go in a specific direction, you always end up, like, going in a completely different direction than the one you intended? It's like, there are all these side roads, and we can't help seeing what those side roads lead to. Sometimes they get you off the path you, like, imagined for yourself. _

The ride back to Angela's house seemed to last forever. The awkward tension thickens the air, or maybe that's just the lack of air conditioning. Either way, it's a miserable ride for both. Jordan speeds down all the streets breaking several traffic laws, but there is no one to see him doing so.

Finally, they reach Angela's street and Jordan stops the car. He leans over to kiss her, but she turns her cheek giving some horrible excuse like she didn't want to get him sick.

"Well, see ya," she says while opening the door and stepping out into the night air. She starts walking slowly towards her house while Jordan stares intently after her for a few moments before starting up the engine and driving off.

The second Angela reaches her driveway Brian Krakow hops out from the bushes.

"So, did you know those bushes had thorns, cuz obviously I didn't," he said breathlessly while wiping off his legs and arms.

"What were you doing?"

"Believe it or not, I didn't want a confrontation."

"Well, no confrontation here," she said starting to walk backwards to her house with a shrug of her shoulders and a flip of her hair.

"So, why_ are_ you back so early?"

"Well there goes the no confrontation plan," she sighed. "Honestly, I don't really know," They stood facing each other in silence. Until—

"Why did you do it? Why did you write it for him in the first place?"

"I don't know Angela. Obviously I didn't, like, do it to hurt you. I just… do you know how hard this is for me? I mean, I've known you for as long as I can, like, remember, and you've always just thought of me as a friend. I know that. I guess I still haven't exactly come to terms with it."

"Brian…"

"No, don't Brian me! If I had given you that letter with _my_ name on it, you wouldn't have thought it was beautiful or passionate… or whatever. You would have been beyond freaked out. But if Jordan sent it to you, I guess then I could have told you how I was feeling without actually, like, telling you."

"I might not have freaked out," she said uncertainly.

"Are you saying—?"

"I don't really know what I'm saying Brian."

"Yeah, I guess you must be kinda confused."

"A little," she said sitting down on the curb of the street.

"Angela…" he said while lowering himself to sit beside her.

"Yeah?"

"I'll understand if you want to be with Jordan Catalano."

_Oh my God, what am I saying?_

"I know you can't really help who you, like, like." When he said the "like" part he looked straight into her eyes.

"You know those romance novels and soap operas where the guy does some ultimate, like, betrayal to some girl who eventually takes him back in the end even though he doesn't deserve it? Yeah, well, every time I heard about those types of situations I always immediately thought the girl was, like, incredibly stupid. I just don't wanna be one of those girls."

"You aren't. You're smart Angela. You're insightful. And Jordan—"

"Would never have told me you wrote that letter," she finished for him. "He never would have told me about him and… Rayanne."

"He might have told you… _eventually_."

"Do you really think so?" she asked staring straight at him.

Brian's POV: _No. Definitely not. Wouldn't have happened. No way. Hell would freeze over before—_

"Yeah, I think he would have told you… _eventually_."

"Why are you defending him?"

"Um… honestly, I have no idea."

"Brian, the defender of the… well, I can't exactly call him innocent."

"Angela, I'm not going to manipulate you in a time of… confusion."

"Yeah… thanks." The silence filled the air.

"You know what? I think this is the longest conversation we've had since… possibly ever," he said, sighing at the realization.

"It's weird. After I found out you wrote the letter, I thought it would be really, like, awkward between us. Instead… I dunno. It's…"

"It's better. Than it was before," he finished for her.

"Yeah, it is."

Then something happened. Maybe it was the stars shining brightly overhead, or maybe it was the full moon, or maybe it was just the right time to give into the moment. A side road that they had to take, just to see where it leads to.

Angela silently leaned her head on Brian's shoulder. The shock on Brian's face was priceless. Somehow he was able to get over his shock and insecurities and muster up enough courage to put his arm around Angela's waist.

Brian's POV: _Wow… this is so… perfect. Don't let it end. Please… never let it end. Geeze, who am I talking to? Or thinking to? Whatever…why am I thinking at all? Why aren't I simply enjoying the perfect-ness of this whole situation? I mean, Angela Chase is leaning on _me_. On _my_ shoulder! And here I am listening to my inner monologue. Do something you idiot! Don't mess this up!_

Angela's POV: _This is so weird… and yet… it's not. God… that, like, makes it even weirder. This whole night is so backwards. I should be in Jordan's car right now doing… _whatever_. Instead I'm with Brian Krakow… sitting on my driveway… leaning on his shoulder… with his arm around me. Why does this feel, like, right? Shouldn't this feel really awkward or something? It doesn't though… it really doesn't. I guess this is kinda what people mean when they say "caught up in the moment." This is what it must feel like. _

Ever so slowly Angela lifted her head up, while Brian slowly lowered his. They gazed at each other for a few seconds before their lips finally touched. It was the perfect moment, the perfect night, and they both knew it. The kiss started soft and slow, but began to progress a great deal when they grew more comfortable with each other. It could have lasted an eternity or only a couple of seconds for all they knew.

Only one thing could bring them out of their moment of bliss. The roar of an engine was heard over the hum of the crickets. Then headlights came and shined right on the Chase's driveway. The car came to a halt and the sound of the engine dimmed. The door opened and Graham Chase stepped out of his car looking straight at Brian and Angela.

His expression went from confusion to shock in a matter of seconds. He seemed as if he was at a lost for words. Finally, he was able to say something, but his voice came out hoarse.

"_Brian_?" he paused. "_Angela_?" He pointed from one to the other as if he still couldn't believe what he had just seen.

Brian immediately jumped up and began to stutter, "Um… um… I was just… I was just leaving sir."

He gave one last lingering look at Angela before attempting to run home. He stumbled a bit, and even tried to take a short cut through the thorny bushes he was trying to hide in earlier.

"Oh, right… thorns," he said absently while running _around_ the bushes and up to his front porch. The door slammed, and he was gone.

Mr. Chase remained glued to the spot staring at Brian's closed door.

"Did I just hallucinate?" he asked blinking profusely and rubbing his eyes.

"It was nothing Dad," Angela replied while blushing furiously and standing back up.

A second later she was in the house, her father following close behind.


	3. Hiding Out

Disclaimer: My So-Called Life and all the characters obviously don't belong to me.

A/N: I really want to thank all the people who liked this story, and I'm sorry that I kind of did what the show did and left the story on a cliffhanger for several months. I'd like to thank M. Alicia Garcia for giving me the review that got me writing this again. I didn't know where I wanted to take the story, but now I think I have some sort of idea. By the way, I know this chapter is super short, but I needed it to transition into the next chapters. Despite its length I hope you enjoy it.

Once inside the safety of her house Angela bounded for the stairs. The sooner she got into her room, the sooner she could escape from this entire night. She had just about reached the seventh step when her mom came around the corner.

"Angela? I didn't expect you home this early. Did you and Jordan have a good time?"

"Yeah, it was fine," she replied taking the rest of the stairs two at a time without glancing back. She didn't need to hear the discussion her parents would have when her dad finally came out of his stupor and walked into the house.

She made it into her room just as the front door opened.

"You won't believe what I just—," the voice of her father was cut off as she shut the door. She rested her head several seconds against the wall as if she was unable to muster up the will to move.

Angela's POV: _Sometimes, when you're really still and really quiet, you can feel like you've almost… disappeared. It's a scary feeling, but at the same time it's, like, a relief. For that instant all thought, all memory, all worries are replaced with this steady rhythm of the heart and your own breathing. _

As she leaned against the door she could hear her mom incredulously asking her father, "Who was on the driveway with her?" Blood rushed to Angela's face. Just hearing her mothers reaction both infuriated and embarrassed her. She ambled over to her bed and collapsed upon it in one fluid motion.

Angela's POV: _Of course, reality always finds a way to seep back in. _

She lied in that same position silent and motionless until the door to her room creaked open. Angela lifted up her head barely an inch above the pillow and saw her mom standing in the doorway. She quickly dropped her head back down onto the pillow as her mom bent over to pick up a jacket that had been thrown onto the floor. As she hung the jacket on a hanger in the closet she said quietly and calmly, "So, would you like to tell me how this miraculous event occurred?"

"No," Angela muttered into her pillow.

"Angela," she paused as if trying to gather her thoughts, "I thought you liked Jordan." Angela's only response was to make a high pitched noise into her pillow. Her mom continued, "Honey, I know this is a confusing time right now, but you need to know that Brian is… well… he's really… sensitive. You can't lead him to think you want something, when you really don't."

"Mom, I really don't want to talk about this right now," Angela sighed into her pillow.

"Alright, but I think you should think about what I said," her mom replied gently. Patty slowly reached out a hand to caress her daughter's head, but she decided against it. She figured now probably wasn't the best time. She put her hand down to her side, turned around, and slowly walked out of the room shutting off the lights and closing the door behind her.

As soon as the door was shut Angela turned over and looked at the ceiling. She eventually rolled out of bed and stood up. She walked slowly to her window and pulled back the curtains to peer outside. The stars still shown just as brightly as always, the street lights continued casting their orange glow, but something was different. Things were changing in a twisted fashion.


End file.
